


525,600 Minutes

by Akira14



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 02:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5147000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira14/pseuds/Akira14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to give him a blinding grin after walking him up to Narita airport security screening, not to end up like this.<br/>Why does it have it be to so hard to let him go? How the hell did he make it look so easy whenever Rin himself left for Sydney when he feels his heart breaking at the thought of parting from Sousuke for so long?</p>
            </blockquote>





	525,600 Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [THIS](http://bakapandy.tumblr.com/post/132512942133/sure-rin) awesome art by [BakaPandy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bakapandy), the fact that I met a pole vault athlete from Estonia who was in Auckland to follow her coach and the headcanon for Sousuke's future that the amazing [Olympian](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3371405/chapters/7373147) by [Tinni](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinni) has given me.

Damn.  
He was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to give him a blinding grin after walking him up to Narita airport security screening, not to end up like this.  
Why does it have it be to so hard to let him go? How the hell did he make it look so easy whenever Rin himself left for Sydney when he feels his heart breaking at the thought of parting from Sousuke for so long?  
Twelve months. Three hundred and five days. Eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours - or "five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes" as the song goes, not that his Aussie friends had ever coerced him into watching RENT and offered their shoulder to cry on near the tearjerking end, nope... never happened - until they can reunite for good.  
A year of Sousuke being on the other side of the fucking world, with a time difference so massive that it would it make it so damn hard for them to find any viable time to Skype. A year of both being so busy with their respective training for the forthcoming Olympic games that they already know it would be pretty much impossible to catch a flight and meet for more than a couple of days, except maybe for Christmas. 

Of course, he understands that a coach that has earned Sousuke's trust and got him to compete at such a high level, when just a couple of years ago that self-deprecating idiot thought all hope of ever being on an international stage was lost, is worth to be followed wherever he goes but still...  
No doubt he gets that living in the U.S.A., being surrounded by other promising triathlon athletes like himself is gonna be a great experience for his boyfriend regardless of his still limited English proficiency, and yet...  
It's not that he's not happy for Sousuke, he is. He is beyond fucking ecstatic that he has been offered this opportunity, and he was the one who made sure that wouldn't do something stupid like turning it down to be by his side, it's just that...

... it's just that big oaf **had** to re-enact the biggest airport scene cliché, crouching down and pretending to look for something in his carry-on bag only to take out a small box. Taking Rin's hand, whilst still on one knee, showing him a small ring and asking **that** question.  
As if it needed to be asked. As if there could be any other option than spending their life together.  
Married or not.

And though Rin succeeds in suppressing the urge to strangle him for making his proposal so damn embarrassing, he can't really stop himself from punching his chest - why did he had to do this **now** , why did he had to make everything harder, why did he have to remind Rin just how fucking lucky he is on the day that he's forced to say goodbye to him? - or do anything about the tears.  
They start falling down his cheeks before he's even got a chance to say anything, and he's trembling so hard that Sousuke immediately stands up and cradles his face in his rough palms, trying to wipe them away. 

"That's not fair, Rin." Yeah, **he** talks about being fair, the jerk. The very same man who made it _purposefully_ harder to say goodbye, acting like Rin is trying to make him stay by bawling his eyes out. "Come now, don't cry. I take it back, okay?"  
"S-shut up! I'm n-not crying." He hiccups, holding tighter onto Sousuke's shirt. He does want to let him go, now. He doesn't want to ever let him go, but that would be too selfish... and while Rin knows he has always been quite self-centered, he can afford to be, not when his _fiancé_ 's dream is on the line. Sousuke has been through enough already, without Rin getting in the way of seeing it fulfilled. "A-a-and d-don't you dare take it back. I'm gonna find you, and I'm gonna drag you through the aisle if I have to. You should be careful what you ask for, 'cause now you're stuck with me. Now go, before I have to kick your ass all the way to your gate." He says, weakly attempting to shove Sousuke away.

Sousuke won't have it, however, and just drags him into a tight hug. They have never been big on PDAs, hardly even held hands while going on double dates with Makoto and Haru, but he doesn't seem to give a damn about that anymore.

"Wait for me just a little longer, okay?" He softly whispers in his ear, as he threads his fingers through his hair and then gently kisses his forehead. "I will be back before you know it."

That's so not true that Rin kinda wants so start hitting his chest again; it's gonna feel like forever before he will see him again.  
He's about to drag Sou into a toilet, drop to his knees as well and give him a proper goodbye when the call for his flight painfully reminds them that their time is up.  
Fuck. What a chance they missed.  
Sousuke better make it up to him next time they meet, or he's gonna regret it so bad...

 _'Bring it on, life._ ' Rin muses, as he watches Sousuke disappear through the gates. He's not really looking forward to going back to his empty flat just yet. _'I'd like to see you try to break us, to make us drift apart and wish we haven't made such a foolish promise to each other. You are in for a massive disappointment, 'cause we are gonna last. You betcha.'_

Rin knows it won't be a walk in the park, but he's damn prepared to fight tooth and nail to cherish what he has with Sousuke.  
It is gonna be hard on both of them, obviously, but they are gonna make it work.  
No matter what people say. No matter the odds against them.  
They are gonna beat them all.

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could blame the fic's faults to the fact that a cold is making it hard for me to think properly and that English clearly isn't my first language. It's not like I write any better in Italian or when I am feeling great, LOL... Sorry about that!


End file.
